Peel ACORN Fire Safety Tenant Speakout
Posted June 18, 2021
Posted June 18, 2021
Yet another fire at 59-67 Ardglen Drive has left tenants scared for their lives. The most recent fire happened on June 8th. These buildings have a history of major fires. Most notably, a little boy died in a fire at the building in 2014. Yet still, in 2021, there are major fires.
As a result, on June 11th Peel ACORN took action for our Brampton leader Tanya Burkart and her neighbours with a Tenant Speak Out Day about the rampant fires at 59-67 Ardglen Drive apartments.
Tanya did an incredible job leading the meeting and rallying her neighbours in a discussion about fire safety, neighbours shared their personal connections to the history of fires at the building, and they all called Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, city and regional councillors Jeff Bowman and Martin Medeiros, and Brampton Fire Safety Education Coordinator Tina Hickey to demand fire safety action at the building.
This close-knit community has endured so much trauma due to the extreme maintenance negligence and the resulting fires. In the last 8 months alone there have been 3 major fires! Tenants even held the speak out next to the still-burnt-out unit from 2020. There has been lots of talk from Brampton Fire, but no action! And without action, lives are going to continue to be in danger. Enough waiting! Brampton Fire needs to send a message by fining the landlord! They need change now! Lives depend on it!
Finally, the landlord, Starlight, is a multi-billion dollar Real Estate Investment Trust. They can more than afford to maintain liveable and safe standards on their properties, but letting their buildings fall into extreme disrepair is part of their business model to save on costs. Watch the video on the Peel ACORN Instagram of our leader Tanya make these connections between her building’s fire hazards and Starlight’s role as a REIT: